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The Stumbling Block To Marriage Equality In New York

Since the New York Assembly passed marriage equality yesterday, the measure now moves to the Senate, where it appears just one vote shy of the 32 votes needed for passage. The measure already exempts religious organizations from recognizing civil same-sex marriages, but opponents of the bill say that these provisions don’t go far enough. They want to “protect individuals, businesses and nonprofit groups opposed to gay marriage from being charged with discrimination for refusing to provide their property or services to be used in a same-sex wedding.” Such a broad exemption would be highly discriminatory and could be applied to blacks, Jews or other minorities.